Surname Change

[penelope]

My wife is a Thai and Aussie passport holder.

She still uses her maiden name.

If she changes her surname in Aussie to my surname does she also have to change her surname in Thailand ?

She would then effectively have passports with 2 different names in them.

[GuestHouse]

No she does not have to change her name in Thailand.

The Thai Constitution gives her the right to use her maiden name if she marries,

I would also advise the your wife does not inform Thai authorities of her change of nationality status, dual nationality is allowed BUT if people who control decisions such as land registration have ANY excuse the will use it to get money out of you and and your wife, If they do not have an excuse they will find one.

Keep it to yoursleves, you don't have to tell... so don't tell.

[GuestHouse]

Oh and make sure that she always enters and leaves Thailand on he Thai passport and that she always maintains her Thai ID card.

These things might well come in handy in the future.

[penelope]

No she does not have to change her  name in Thailand.

The Thai Constitution gives her the right to use her maiden name if she marries,

I would also advise the your wife does not inform Thai authorities of her change of nationality status, dual nationality is allowed BUT if people who control decisions such as land registration have ANY excuse the will use it to get money out of you and and your wife, If they do not have an excuse they will find one.

Keep it to yoursleves, you don't have to tell... so don't tell.

She's had aussie nationality for a long time and already owns much land in LOS.So we are very familiar with that aspect and how to best operate, in a covert kind of a way.But the name change is a nagging concern, so we have just avoided it in the past. She's reluctant to change her name in LOS because she thinks she would lose her "na ... " ending, something that comes in handy. But she would like her Aussie passport to have the same surname as me.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

If you want to be safe, take both passports and your marriage certificate and her ID to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular Affairs, in Laksi and get either a new Thai passport, or have a name alteration done. Two passports in different names isn't an assett in these days of heightened security. Her property rights are not affected by her marriage to a foreigner.

[Johpa]

My wife is a Thai and Aussie passport holder.

She still uses her maiden name.

If she changes her surname in Aussie to my surname does she also have to change her surname in Thailand ?

She would then effectively have passports with 2 different names in them.

My wife has never changed her legal name (passport & tabian baan) and has kept her Thai citizenship. We do have a legal marriage certifcate from the Amphoe and our marriage has long been recognized by the US government.

My wife travels on her Thai passport but enters the US (& Canada) on her US permanent residency permit. She does not have US citizenship. She would need to get a visa to visit some countries.

Some Thai karaatchakans have a problem with the keeping of the maiden name and some do not. Some claim there is a Thai law that requires a name change. Others claim there is no such requirement. One only need to read the society pages of the Thai newspapers to see Thai business women who have kept their maiden names after marriage. Well connected Bangkok folks have no problems with keeping a maiden name after marriage while others may have a few road bumps. We have always found it easy to overcome the minor road bumps. Your mileage may vary.

[GuestHouse]

There is absolutely no reason why your wife needs to change any of her documents in Thailand indorder to change her name in Australia.

I would simply make the change in Australia and leave everything as it is in Thailand.

I have Thai colleages who are the children of foreigners and who have dual citizenship - They use their fathers name on their foreign documents and their mothers maiden name on their Thai documents. I've just asked one of them why and she replied ' to save problems in Thailand'.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

There is absolutely no reason why your wife needs to change any of her documents in Thailand indorder to change her name in Australia.

I would simply make the change in Australia and leave everything as it is in Thailand.

I have Thai colleages who are the children of foreigners and who have dual citizenship - They use their fathers name on their foreign documents and their mothers maiden name on their Thai documents. I've just asked one of them why and she replied ' to save problems in Thailand'.

And there is absolutely no reason whatsoever not too. Passports in two different names will create nothing but problems.